Timothy's Quest

A charming pastoral about two unwanted children finding acceptance and love, Timothy's Quest (1922) is a rare, cinematic gem based on a novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), who was then known as "America's best loved author of stories about children."*

The only production of the Dirigo Film Company, established in order to make films in the state of Maine adapted from works by Maine authors, Wiggin loaned her own home as one of the principal filming locations. Director Sidney Olcott -- a true pioneer who was General Manager of Biograph and directed one of the earliest American feature films, From the Manger to the Cross (1912) -- makes generous use of beautiful, local landscapes that look lovely and timeless in this tinted print.

The story centers around two orphans from the slums, Timothy (Joseph Depew) and "Lady Gay" (Baby Helen Rowland), who decide to strike out for the country rather than be sent to an asylum. They end up at White Farms, home of the bitter, old Miss Avilda Cummins (Marie Day). She takes a harsh attitude toward the children but agrees to house them for the night, warning her housekeeper, Samantha Ann Ripley (Margaret Seddon), that the kids are to be kicked out the next day. Eventually, though, the old spinster softens and, influenced in part by the tragic memories of her own 'wayward' sister, adopts and provides a home for both Lady Gay and Timothy.

Featuring a digital stereo score compiled by Eric W. Cook and performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, this little-known treasure of regional filmmaking in the silent era is "...a story for any and everybody who happens to have a heart."

Related videos

In late 1914, Charlie Chaplin was paid the then-unprecedented salary of $1,250 per week (with a bonus of $10,000) in exchange for signing a one-year contract with the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company. The resulting 14 films he created for Essanay find Chaplin further experimenting with new cinematic techniques, while continuing…

In perhaps the ultimate film about NOT drinking, a group of New York recovering alcoholics come together for a Times Square AA meeting. At turns tragic and hilarious, this critically-praised "cantata of the damned" stars Richard Lewis, Dianne Wiest, Faye Dunaway, Parker Posey and an otherwise stellar cast of NY…

This is the story of Lukas - an aimless, haunted young man in contemporary L.A. who buries thoughts of his own past in the humdrum routine of a tollbooth clerk. A chance encounter with a Holocaust survivor suddenly brings into focus a world and an identity he embraces with frightening…

A polysexual vaudeville playing promiscuously with melodramatic intrigue, camp and intellectual gamesmanship, IMPOSTORS remains as unclassifiable as it was in 1979.
Its slippery "plot" centers on the romance between besotted Peter and elusive Tina. She's a faithless bisexual and beauteous onstage assistant to lookalike magicians Mikey and Chuckie (stage legend…

"Our creature animation in the Jurassic Park films basically descends from The Lost World of 1925. Willis O'Brien is our great pioneer, and this superb restoration inspires new awe for his imagination and craftsmanship." - Stan Winston
Newly restored with 50% more footage than any version generally available for seventy…

In a cramped row house on the border of Washington, D.C., two stories of big dreams take place. Floyd and his family have raised a 1000-pound pig in their backyard, and are determined to turn her into the team mascot for the Redskins football team. Floyd puts his plan into…

High school student Tim is a victim of bullying. Unhappy and afraid, he somehow tries to live a normal life, trying hard to hide what he's going through from his parents. Then one day he lies in the hospital - badly beaten.
Silent Majority is a Canadian movie project based…

Alice is a young investigative reporter. She suffers a sorrowful loss but finds an enigmatic commune where she starts to find her will to live and love again. Starring Deborah Ann Woll ("Daredevil", "True Blood"), and Luke Grimes ("50 Shades of Grey", "American Sniper").
"Forever is an intriguing psychological thriller…

Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous novelization of the harsh realities of slavery was a catalyst for the anti-slavery movement and remains a landmark in American literature. Conceived as a super production on the scale of Foolish Wives and The Phantom of the Opera,this 1927 adaptation of Stowe's famous book cost $1.8…

Independently produced by Bennie Zeidman, HELL'S HOUSE (1932) is a Pre-Code melodrama that captured Bette Davis and Pat O'Brien just before they were catapulted to superstardom at Warner Bros. An expose of the American penal system (not unlike I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang and The Mayor of…

A day-in-the-life of Charlie Fox, a brash young commercial director from a troubled, show-biz family. Accompanied by three friends -- his unhappy girlfriend Paloma, his party-animal buddy Joe, and a vulnerable newcomer, Cassandra -- Charlie rides an emotional rollercoaster all the way from a California dream to a contemporary tragedy.…